Published 19:40 IST, June 17th 2020
US sanctions Bashar Al-Assad’s wife Asma under Caesar Act to cripple Syrian regime
The United States announced new sanctions on June 17 on dozens of people including Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s wife and siblings under the Caesar Act.
The United States announced new sanctions on dozens of people including Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad’s wife and siblings under the Caesar Act. US State Secretary Mike Pompeo said in a statement that the government is sanctioning those who have played a key role in “obstructing a peaceful political solution” to the conflict.
The Caesar Act is named after a military photographer who smuggled out 52,275 images of torture and death of Syrians inside government prison. The Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act was signed into law by US President Donald Trump in December 2019, authorising severe economic sanctions to “promote accountability for the Assad regime’s violence and destruction”.
Bashar Al-Assad’s wife Asma al-Assad and his siblings Maher al-Assad and Bushra al-Assad are among the 39 Syrian individuals and entities facing the sanctions. Pompeo said that the sanctions are the beginning of a sustained campaign of economic and political pressure to deny the Assad regime revenue and support used to wage war and commit mass atrocities.
“We will continue this campaign in the coming weeks and months to target individuals and businesses that support the Assad regime and obstruct a peaceful, political resolution of the conflict,” added the top US diplomat.
'Notorious war profiteer'
Pompeo said that the US anticipates “many more sanctions” and will not stop until Assad and his regime stop their “needless, brutal war” against the Syrian people. The former CIA chief made a special note of the sanctions on Asma al-Assad, saying she has become one of Syria’s most notorious war profiteers with the help of her husband and members of her Akhras family. He added that the US will undertake the campaign in full cooperation with other like-minded nations, especially our European partners.
“It is time for Assad’s needless, brutal war to end. Today, the Assad regime and those who support it have a simple choice: take irreversible steps toward a lasting political solution to the Syrian conflict in line with UNSCR 2254 or face ever new tranches of crippling sanctions,” warned Pompeo.
Updated 19:40 IST, June 17th 2020